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Hackers to Feds: we need some time apart

Brian Krebs

In an apparent reaction to recent revelations about far-reaching US government surveillance programs, organisers of an annual hacker convention are asking federal agents to just stay away.

One of the more time-honoured traditions at DEF CON — the massive event held each year in Las Vegas — is “Spot-the-Fed”, a playful and mostly harmless contest to out undercover government agents who attend the show.

But that game might be a bit tougher when the conference rolls around again next month.

In a brief blog post published Thursday on the DEF CON website titled “Feds, We Need Some Time Apart”, DEF CON owner and hacker-in-chief Jeff Moss (aka “The Dark Tangent”) suggested it was probably in the best interest of the feds to make themselves scarce at this year’s con.

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“For over two decades DEF CON has been an open nexus of hacker culture, a place where seasoned pros, hackers, academics, and feds can meet, share ideas and party on neutral territory. Our community operates in the spirit of openness, verified trust, and mutual respect.

When it comes to sharing and socialising with feds, recent revelations have made many in the community uncomfortable about this relationship. Therefore, I think it would be best for everyone involved if the feds call a ‘time-out’ and not attend DEF CON this year.

"This will give everybody time to think about how we got here, and what comes next.”

It’s been a while since the event was a place where feds really had to watch their backs. I didn’t have the privilege to attend the first DEF CON 21 years ago, but it’s safe to say that relations between the hacker community and the feds were for many years coloured by a sense of mutual antagonism and mistrust.

Much of that attitude seemed to have changed in the wake of 9/11, and for the past decade the relationship between the two camps has thawed and even warmed quite a bit. Intelligence and law enforcement agencies have come to find the conference a reliably fertile and lucrative ground for recruiting talent. Heck, things had improved so much that, by this time last year, the conference’s keynote was given by none other than Keith Alexander, the director of the US National Security Agency.

Now with the NSA in the hot seat over allegations of broad and intrusive electronic eavesdropping programs directed at US citizens and its allies abroad, revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden, it remains to be seen whether officials from the NSA, CIA or other three-letter agencies will make any strong or sustained showing at this year’s gathering.

But in any case, this announcement from DEF CON should serve as a fair warning to feds who do decide to stick around past Black Hat, a more corporate and fed-heavy conference that directly precedes DEF CON: Spot-the-Fed could well turn into a hack-the-fed competition.

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